Ravens, Orioles can’t reach a deal for Thursday opener

Posted by Darin Gantt on March 22, 2013, 3:22 PM EDT

Reuters

Baseball didn’t blink, and the Ravens are apparently going to have to open the season on the road.

According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, efforts to find a resolution that would allow the Ravens to open the season at home on a Thursday night (when the Orioles had a game scheduled) have proven unsuccessful.

As such, the Orioles will play the White Sox on Sept. 5 at 7 p.m., and the Ravens will open the season on the road, instead of the recently traditional Thursday game.

While it remains to be seen what happens if it rains that night, the league’s efforts to stage their season-opening party are being shelved for this season.

UPDATE 3:27 p.m. ET: The Ravens have acknowledged that they’ll open on the road, saying the logistical problems of two games on the same day (with facilities that share parking lots) was too much to overcome:

“After thorough discussions among the Orioles, the NFL and the Ravens, it became clear that holding both an Orioles’ game and the Ravens’ regular season opener on the same day would create logistical situations that would cause serious issues for the city of Baltimore, and fans for both teams,” Ravens team president Dick Cass said, via the team’s official website.

“The Ravens greatly appreciate the willingness of the Orioles to adjust the start of their game in an effort to make this sports spectacular happen. But, in the end, anticipated problems with parking, rush-hour traffic, plus crowd and car congestion around Oriole Park and M&T Bank Stadium, will keep the doubleheader from taking place.”

Another reason to not watch baseball. They should go ahead and do it anyway. Probably 1/2 the people who would go to the baseball game will go instead to the Football game, plus be there tailgating hours ahead of time. So there will be no parking for the baseball crowd anyway. Most of the BB people will decide not to fight the crowd, so there will be no one at the game, and the BB owner will not get the Money the Raven’s offered, and lose his butt.

trollhammer20 says:Mar 22, 2013 3:29 PM

NFL should schedule the game anyway, and MLB can cry when only 2,000 people show up.

75rockrasin says:Mar 22, 2013 3:31 PM

All the NFL has to do is move the game to Wednesday night. So simple, even a cave man can do it..

autobrand says:Mar 22, 2013 3:31 PM

So one of the biggest events in the city of Baltimore for the year is being canceled for what will likely be a meaningless late season baseball game that will draw a crowd numbering in the hundreds?

Why don’t they play at home on Sunday? Is it a huge deal if the SB champion can’t play on Thursday? That said, if they want to play on Thursday, they should play on Thursday and may the more popular team win.

Logical voice: your post just made me cry laughing. Excuse me but the Deadskins are the biggest joke of all pro sports. Your owner is awful, your stadium is awful, soon you’ll have a new name because your mascot is a racist symbol, you haven’t won a championship in over 20 years, you just crippled your own QB because as one of the most profitable organizations in sports your owner doesn’t even cough up cash to maintain a safe field… The list goes on and on. Sorry you’ve been over shadowed by your big brother in Baltimore for all these years. Good luck with crippled RG3, no draft picks and being strapped under the cap because your front office is incompetent.

World Champs

Out

ampats says:Mar 22, 2013 3:39 PM

It would serve the Orioles right if the game ended up getting rained out.

Stiller43 says:Mar 22, 2013 3:39 PM

To all posters saying “play it at home anyway,” they cant. Its against the rules set up by people in charge in MD. They share a parking lot. Theres nothing they can do unless MLB decided to move, sincd their schedule was out first.

This shows a lack of class and a lack of care and concern by the Orioles who are depriving Baltimore fans of a chance to see their team bring home the Lombardi on opening night. The Ravens should play the game in the parking lot and still out draw the Orioles, and Baltimore fans should remember the Orioles for this.

whatnojets says:Mar 22, 2013 3:41 PM

Stiller43 says:
Mar 22, 2013 3:26 PM
Why doesnt the nfl just play on that wednesday?!!! It makes NO sense!!!
————————————————-

Yep, Have them start on Sunday at 1:00 and everyone else that has a 1:00 game start at 1:15 or play the game on Wednesday night. Hopefully the people of Baltimore will boycott the Orioles game on Thursday..

Good reason why there needs to be better planning when building stadiums.

If Ray Ray was still playing, we know what he would do but we would never find the jacket.

ravensdominate says:
——-
The Nationals wouldn’t dare to pull this on our franchise. We command respect and have a true tradition and fanbase to let just let something like this stand. The O’s just Punked your team and I can see why. There’s nothing to respect. Case closed.

biglaj007 says:Mar 22, 2013 3:46 PM

logicalvoicesays
Mar 22, 2013, 3:25 PM EDT
Truly pathetic for the Ravens. They might as well be DC United in the state of Maryland aka Redskins Country.

stairwayto7
Mar 22, 2013, 3:26 PM EDT
Take that rat bird fans! LOL.. To make it better, have Ray Lewis throw out 1st pitch of the O’s game that night!

Why so much hate for the Ravens, you three sound so pathetic hating on the them. Beside us fans, do you really think Flacco & the Ravens pay attention to these pathetic hateful posts. You low-life, useless, lonely, etc needs a life.

Logical voice: the nationals like the Deadskins aren’t even in DC lol!!! I guess that is a positive for having your disgusting stadium in LANDOVER!!! Yeah you have tradition. Tradition of LOSING!! Hahaha Redskins! Hope you like your new name! I just pinked you.

World champs

Out

gerryb323 says:Mar 22, 2013 3:50 PM

We realize the post now says that the Orioles were willing to move their game, but everyone involved decided that it still wouldn’t work, right?

Now whether that’s true or just a face-saving statement…

jdfrox says:Mar 22, 2013 3:52 PM

Here are some facts for those that think this is a simple fix. The two teams share the same parking lots. There is simply no practical way to have the games on the same day. You can’t have Sunday or Monday because the O’s play that date too.

The simple solution is Wednesday. I really do not understand why that is such an issue.

Honestly, I don’t blame the O’s for this. They were put in a difficult situation here, one that I am sure they wish they could correct (and look like heros to the Baltimore fans). MLB and the NFL should have discussed this long ago though to make sure that teams that share parking with NFL teams do not have home games on those nights. Thursday night is often a travel night anyway.

I’m not a Ravens fan, but that is Bush League by MLB. If I were the NFL, I would make sure my much better product airs on Sunday night versus a playoff and World Series game. Let’s see MLB reverse course quickly if the NFL did that.

I think they realize if you tried to have them at the same time and depending if the orioles are in the hunt or not there would be more fans at the Ravens game than the Orioles. It’s all about profit, I don’t think they really care about the congestion problems they are owners not city ordinance people they only care about profit margins and stuff like that.

johnnyhambone says:Mar 22, 2013 4:01 PM

All Hail Peter Angelos and Bud Selig

justintuckrule says:Mar 22, 2013 4:04 PM

What an annoying little part of the world that Balt/D.C. has become. Hopefully the O’s get rained out that day and the whole parking lot is dark on opening night. That would serve both whiny fanbases right.

You can’t blame the O’s for not playing a night road game, traveling home afterwards, then playing a day game on short rest. The NFL needs to work around established schedules.

And for those saying play em both at the same time – it’s not really logistically feasible – they share parking lots.

Plus the O’s don’t allow tailgating……and we can’t have the Angelo’s lose any beer money.

Btw, don’t ‘assume’ it’ll be a meaningless baseball game in Sept – the Orioles have as good a chance as anyone to be competitive this year. The NFL and MLB need to work together and not expect the O’s and Ravens to do it.

gerryb323 says:Mar 22, 2013 4:14 PM

justintuckrule says:
Mar 22, 2013 4:04 PM
What an annoying little part of the world that Balt/D.C. has become. Hopefully the O’s get rained out that day and the whole parking lot is dark on opening night. That would serve both whiny fanbases right.
___________

That would actually be hilarious!

voteforno6 says:Mar 22, 2013 4:19 PM

logicalvoicesays says: Mar 22, 2013 3:44 PM

ravensdominate says:
——-
The Nationals wouldn’t dare to pull this on our franchise. We command respect and have a true tradition and fanbase to let just let something like this stand. The O’s just Punked your team and I can see why. There’s nothing to respect. Case closed.

—————————-

Not true. The Nationals have played games at the same time as the Redskins. It’s never been an issue because the stadiums are several miles apart and, obviously, don’t share parking lots as in Baltimore.

Very simple. Baltimore should boycott the O’s game. They won’t miss the crowd anyway. Stay home and watch the football game on TV.

seaeagle707 says:Mar 22, 2013 4:21 PM

This is an innocent question (no ulterior motive). Isn’t there a university field in or close to Baltimore? After the Kingdome was knocked down and before the Clink was built, the Hawks played at the U. of Washington’s stadium. No luxury skyboxes, but a quite usable field. Seems to me the LA Rams played in a college stadium.

Looks like I won’t be going to any O’s games this summer. How do the Orioles not understand that Baltimore just won a championship? Free the birds, Angelos. The whole city hates you.

voteforno6 says:Mar 22, 2013 4:36 PM

As much sense as it seems to make to move the game to Wednesday night, I doubt that NBC would agree to do so.

harrisonhits2 says:Mar 22, 2013 4:39 PM

“abel660 says:
Mar 22, 2013 3:42 PM
Looks like the nfl is opening up its first game of the season in foxboro baby! PATSNATION”

Umm, the Pats play in Baltimore this year not the other way around. Thanks for making all Pats fans look stupid when all you had to do was look at the Patriots’ site to see who the home and away opponents are.

I think the NFL should schedule games during the week in late October. They should schedule a game every night of the week the World Series is on.

Let’s see how the ratings then work out.

jameyjame says:Mar 22, 2013 4:41 PM

logicalvoicesays says: Mar 22, 2013 3:25 PM

Truly pathetic for the Ravens. They might as well be DC United in the state of Maryland aka Redskins Country.
———————————————-
i guess they can look at their super bowl trophy and QB with 2 good knees and take solace in that. you wanna know what’s truly pathetic? redskins ownership and that monstrosity you call a field. they hurt their own QB with that pop warner field. talk about pathetic.

Last year the O’s had a great season and almost wound up with the best record in the AL and did well in the playoffs (where they hadn’t been in YEARS). A Sept game could very well mean something to them. I doubt that it will be a meaningless game. The Ravens? It’s only the first game of the season, big deal.

Someone said boycott the O’s game. That’s absurd. By then Baltimore will be loving the O’s because that’s all that’s going on and to expect those fans to boycott your own hometown team is just stupid.

vikings2102 says:Mar 22, 2013 4:43 PM

Here’s a thought…..or two:

1. Orioles will be out of any baseball playoof race by June. For this reason (and the fact baseball sucks and Bud is a bum) they should move the Thursday game for that bum sport. Gee, let me think, double header on Tuesday or Wednesday?! I know, too much sense.

2. The Ravens are the WORLD CHAMPS and KING of that city (just like football should be…and is). Sorry, they need to open at home. It needs to be figured out.

If I were a die hard Ravens fan, I would be pissed. You’re not that far from NFL HQ guys (and gals), I say a protest is in order.

As a die hard Vikings fan, I am happy this would never happen. One, because the (loser) Twins stadium does not share a parking lot with the Vikes. Two, because we’ll never win a Superbowl (no, I don’t believe that, but I had to beat you haters to the punch on that joke).

SKOL VIKINGS!!

burntorangehorn says:Mar 22, 2013 4:45 PM

People, the Orioles are not at fault here, and the issue is not attendance. It’s not. They just can’t hold games at the same time, because Camden Yards share the same parking lot. It’s downtown Baltimore, where it’s not like there’s a way for parking to spill over. As a suburban Baltimore-DCr esident whose medical care takes place a couple blocks from either, I can assure you that this isn’t an issue of the MLB’s or Orioles’ resistance to holding games at the same time.

Another false issue is the idea of moving the O’s game. They have a three-game stretch in Cleveland through Wednesday, and then have this three-game series in Baltimore starting Thursday.

The Wednesday solution is by far the best one, but the NFL and Ravens officials said they couldn’t hold the game then, because it’s Rosh Hashanah. The problem with that excuse is that it’s horsecrap; if it weren’t, they couldn’t hold the game on Thursday, either. Why? Because Rosh Hashanah lasts through that night as well, and anyone religious enough to miss Wednesday for the no-tech religious reasons would also miss Thursday. Furthermore, the league has held games on Rosh Hashanah in the past. Clearly this whole problem with Rosh Hashanah is nonsense.

I say good for the Orioles. They already made their schedule, and they shouldn’t have to change it.

If Goodell was smart enough, he’d move the game to Wednesday. It’s his fault the Baltimore players/fans aren’t getting their opening game at home.

And a religious holiday is a lame excuse. The 4 major professional sports are played on every day of the year, except 2 – the day before and the day after the MLB All-Star game. The rest are fair game.

Just play Wednesday and move on.

ravenator says:Mar 22, 2013 5:15 PM

To all you Raven haters, guess who won the superbowl! Guess whose team did not win the superbowl! Cheers!

Oh and logicalvoice – RGIII is still too busy with rehab from the sensational hit put on him by Ngata. Soak it up.

I realize that most people on here believe that the sun rises and sets on the NFL and the NFL alone, but anybody with a well balanced, reasonable approach to life can see the Orioles point here.

The fact is, if the Orioles are as good as they were last year this game, coming near the end of the pennant race, will almost certainly mean more to them than the very first game of the regular season will mean to the Ravens.

First rookie quarterback to start all sixteen games and make the playoffs (shared with Matt Ryan)
First rookie quarterback to win two playoff games[35]
Most starts by a quarterback in first season: 19
Most starts by a quarterback in first two seasons: 37
Most starts by a quarterback in first three seasons: 55
Most starts by a quarterback in first four seasons: 73
Most starts by a quarterback in first five seasons: 93
Most wins by a quarterback in first 80 consecutive starts: 54
Most combined regular and postseason wins in first three years as a quarterback: 36 (tied with Dan Marino)[36]
Only quarterback to start and win a playoff game in each of his first five seasons[37]
Most road playoff wins by a quarterback: 6
Most touchdowns in a postseason: 11 (tied with Joe Montana and Kurt Warner)[32]
Most touchdowns without an interception in a postseason: 11 (tied with Joe Montana)[33]
First quarterback to have a passer rating over 100 in all four games of a single postseason[3]
Most consecutive playoff games with three passing touchdowns: 3 (tied with Bernie Kosar, Kurt Warner, and Aaron Rodgers)

Flat out petty jelousy.. I will make it a point to sell my seats when the O’s come to town and change the channel if they are on TV. Orioles SUCK Orioles SUCK Orioles SUCK that will be the biggest and longest chant at the Ravens game this year. Karma will be sure to exclude the O’s from the play offs

critter69 says:Mar 22, 2013 6:13 PM

A bunch of posters here have no idea of the fan base (actually bases) in Maryland:

The far Western part of the state has more fans of the SW Pennsylvania NFL team than other teams;

The NE corner of the state is as likely to have Eagles fans as Ravens fans;

The Northern part of Central Maryland is composed mostly of Ravens fans;

The Southern part of Central Maryland, plus most of Southern Maryland, is comprised mostly of Deadskin fans.

The Eastern Shore? Who knows, but then again, who cares?

Insomniac says:Mar 22, 2013 6:17 PM

Mistake on the NFL’s part. I think the announcement should have been that they could not reach an agreement with the Orioles and MLB. Instead they will play a home game at FedEx Field (~30 miles away) where they can also host an additional 10,000 Ravens fans. They will also “lift the banner” at their next home game.

First rookie quarterback to start all sixteen games and make the playoffs (shared with Matt Ryan)
First rookie quarterback to win two playoff games[35]
Most starts by a quarterback in first season: 19
Most starts by a quarterback in first two seasons: 37
Most starts by a quarterback in first three seasons: 55
Most starts by a quarterback in first four seasons: 73
Most starts by a quarterback in first five seasons: 93
Most wins by a quarterback in first 80 consecutive starts: 54
Most combined regular and postseason wins in first three years as a quarterback: 36 (tied with Dan Marino)[36]
Only quarterback to start and win a playoff game in each of his first five seasons[37]
Most road playoff wins by a quarterback: 6
Most touchdowns in a postseason: 11 (tied with Joe Montana and Kurt Warner)[32]
Most touchdowns without an interception in a postseason: 11 (tied with Joe Montana)[33]
First quarterback to have a passer rating over 100 in all four games of a single postseason[3]
Most consecutive playoff games with three passing touchdowns: 3 (tied with Bernie Kosar, Kurt Warner, and Aaron Rodgers)

Yep, that’s our Jump Ball Joe ….

Stats are for geeks not freaks…ssshhh who cares but you?

rondayne33 says:Mar 22, 2013 6:37 PM

Good move. Who is going to pay to show up to the Ravens game anyway? They’ve gutted themselves to the talent equivalent of an arena team.

8man says:Mar 22, 2013 7:24 PM

The main reason this isn’t possible is because Raven fan begins tailgating the night before.

1. By the time this game is played the O’s will be 30 games out of first with all 17 fans showing up to the baseball game. Even less people will watch the Oriel game on TV cuz the Ravens will be on.

2. Raven fans, stop defending Joe Flacco. His resume speaks for itself. Those so called die hard football fans can bash him and Romo all they want. They have no clue. These are the same so called fans who watch a quarter of a game and then leave to spend the day at thier mother in laws house becasue thier wives don’t let them watch football.

ata boy Orioles…the NFL is getting too big for their britches……the MLB/Orioles are just as important so what have they done for you…probably nothing…..Goodell and the NFL think everyone should move over and let them have their way…..screw them

Another reason why the Philly sports complex is awesome. I’ve routinely gone to multiple games at the same time…Phillies/Sixers, Phillies/Flyers, Phillies/Eagles, Eagles/F,years, and Eagles/Sixers. There is so much parking and the area is huge with many points of access to I-95 and 76 right there, its easy to get in/out of the area after multiple games. I’ll never forget watching the Phillies put up 6 runs in the first 3 innings while wearing my Flyers jersey as a playoff game was going on across the street that I had tickets to in my pocket. Walked over there after the bottom of the 3rd to see the Flyers destroy the Caps 6-2, witnessing Mike Richards score only the second penalty shot goal in Flyers playoff history. Must suck that your team can’t enjoy this awesome treat of multiple games at the same time. It really is pretty cool.

Does Baseball realize that it is quickly approaching 3rd most popular professional sport in America? 5th if you throw in NCAA Football and Basketball?
What a joke, Bud Selig is corrupt and an idiot on top of everything. Free Pete!

Why don’t they just move the Ravens game to Wedensday!?!?!? Seriously????? Is this really that hard guys. Just put your thinking cap on Rodger Coodell. Oh wait. I forgot he doesn’t have a thinking cap. They are all grown adults I don’t get why they can’t figure something out. I just don’t get it.

psunick says:Mar 23, 2013 2:21 PM

Take that, Michael Silver.

Someone give that arrogant jerk a severance check. Out of the MLB slush fund.

steeler 88 i couldnt agree more…as a baltimore sports fan i am very irritated with the nfl. they are acting like children. the orioles have the venue that day…to think they can or should “just move” is crazy. first of all its not just their decision. there is another team involved. second of all whats wrong with wednesday…they did it last year. goodell didnt get what he wanted and now he is acting like a brat. the holiday arguement is even worse…name an in season holiday they havent played on. just craziness